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Around the UK in Bertha
  • Happy Days Travel
  • Mark Wade
  • Happy Days Travel
  • Mark Wade

Around the UK in Bertha

Away in our campervan to attend the Destinations Show, catch up with family, and explore more of Cornwall and beyond! En savoir plus
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  • Around the UK in Bertha

    A visit to Greyfriars

    14 mars 2023, Angleterre ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    From the cathedral, we walked to Friar Street to visit Greyfriars, a National Trust property. This part of Worcester has a plethora of Tudor half-timbered buildings. It is very picturesque. Who knew?? 😀

    You can only visit Greyfriars on an organised tour. Luckily, there was one starting within ten minutes of our arrival - and there were spaces on it!!

    Greyfriars is a remarkable specimen of a timber-framed town house. It was built for Thomas Grene in the 1480s. Since then, it has been the home of well-connected Royalists who helped protect King Charles II in the Civil War; it was the site of butchers, bakers, and leather makers; and in the 20th century, it became the subject of a long-running battle to save Worcester's heritage. It ultimately ended up in the hands of siblings Elsie and Matley Moore, who helped save this remarkable building from destruction and left their distinctive mark in every room. Today, Greyfriars and its neighbouring buildings provide the opportunity to walk in a street that hasn't changed much since the late Middle Ages.

    Our guide, Karen, was brilliant! She had so many stories about the people associated with Greyfriars down the years. She really brought the place to life.    En savoir plus

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  • Around the UK in Bertha

    A day on site

    15 mars 2023, Angleterre ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

    After our visit to Greyfriars yesterday, we spent a couple of hours in the pub while we waited for the 6pm bus 🚌. Back on site, we were disappointed that our casserole in the slow cooker hadn't cooked, despite being on all day! We ended up having beans on toast because we were hungry and will have the beef stew today.

    It was a miserable morning. We went for a walk around site before the rain came 🌧. The river is really high. All the static caravans on the bank have floats to raise them up when it floods. We chatted to one owner who said the site floods up to 6 times a year, making the caravans 🚐 unusable!

    After our walk, I decided to do the laundry. The machine wasn't working properly - the water started gushing out of the bottom as soon as I switched it on, flooding the laundry room floor! I found the owner who managed to fix it. I did finally get the washing done and dried, but it took all day! The joys of camping!!    En savoir plus

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  • Around the UK in Bertha

    A visit to Hardwick Hall

    16 mars 2023, Angleterre ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We left Riverside this morning, heading for Harrogate. We broke our journey at Hardwick Hall, about halfway up. I visited on a school trip many, many moons ago. We thought we'd been in recent years, but when we got there, we realised we hadn't. It was definitely a first for Mark.

    It was a grey, drizzly day, so we concentrated on the house and will return another day to explore the gardens and extensive grounds.

    Hardwick Hall was the magnificent creation of Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, known by all as Bess of Hardwick. This formidable businesswoman and property owner, four times married and widowed, mother, stepmother, and founder of a great aristocratic dynasty, was unique in the male-dominated world of Elizabethan England. I remember learning about her as a child and being in awe of her achievements.

    Bess built Hardwick Hall over seven years in the 1590s. She created the marvel of the age. Countless people came just to gaze at it. It is a magnificent mansion built of sandstone with more glass than had ever been seen in a building before, a testament to Bess's immense wealth and iron will. She ordered that her initials, E S, Elizabeth of Shrewsbury, be carved in stone and presented underneath her coronet on the top of each tower. These letters are the first thing most people notice when they visit the house today.

    Remarkably, Hardwick has changed little since Bess built it. If she walked through the main entrance to the Great Hall today, she would undoubtedly recognise it. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. The tapestries and other fabrics and embroideries are absolutely stunning. As usual, the volunteer room stewards employed by the National Trust are incredibly knowledgeable and eager to share their knowledge with visitors.    En savoir plus

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  • Around the UK in Bertha

    The Motorhome and Campervan Show

    17 mars 2023, Angleterre ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We spent today a short walk away at the Motorhome and Campervan Show. We thoroughly enjoyed walking around the stalls and noseying inside plenty of campervans. The weather was kind to us, which made for a very pleasant day. We didn't buy anything, but we did bump into a few familiar faces, including some customers from Naburn and the guys from Camperlife. Apparently, we had just missed Pete and Katherine! Camping is a very small world 🌎!! 😀

    We attended three seminars during the day and picked up some useful tips. The first was on Motorhoming in Europe with Motorhome Matt. The other two were hosted by van lifers, Life Beyond Bricks and the Urban Motorhome.    En savoir plus

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  • Around the UK in Bertha

    Fodders!

    18 mars 2023, Angleterre ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    One of the reasons we like coming to Harrogate Caravan Park is the fantastic deli and farm shop just next door! Fodders stocks a huge range of great quality local produce. We paid a visit this morning to buy pork chops for tomorrow and a selection of cheeses. We then walked down to Sainsburys to buy a bottle of red for Mark - wine is far too expensive in Fodders!

    We spent the rest of the day researching the Seychelles and Johannesburg! I can't believe it's only 4 weeks until we go!    En savoir plus

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  • Around the UK in Bertha

    Shopping in Harrogate

    20 mars 2023, Angleterre ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Yesterday, we revisited the Motorhome and Campervan Show to have another look at ideas for solar. We bought a new fan heater for the van to replace our old one which had split. We also treated ourselves to a lovely new pair of binoculars for our Africa trip!

    Today, it was wet again, but we got the bus 🚌 into Harrogate anyway. We had no luck with Santander, which was our main reason for going. The guy was incredibly unhelpful! We'll try the Skegvegas branch next week. It wasn't a completely wasted trip, though. We had some photos 📸 taken for our African visas, and I bought some fabric to cover the cushions in the van.

    We had lunch in Spoons and visited our favourite shop in Harrogate - see photos 📸! 😀    En savoir plus

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  • Around the UK in Bertha

    Homeward bound!

    22 mars 2023, Angleterre ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

    We spent yesterday in and around the van, doing laundry, making lists, and sorting out malaria tablets!

    Today was the last day of our 7-week trip around the UK 🇬🇧 . We were up early, showered, and got on the road. We were both looking forward to getting home and organising things for our upcoming epic trip!! Exciting times ahead!! 😀😀En savoir plus

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    Fin du voyage
    22 mars 2023